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Kentucky coach Mark Stoops chalked up Saturday’s 35-13 loss at South Carolina as a learning experience for his team.
“You’ve heard me say a lot, but it’s true with every opportunity you have to learn,” he said Monday. “You know from that, whether it’s success or failure (and) anywhere in between, you just have to get better.”
The Wildcats (2-3) have endured more failures than successes recently, especially in Southeastern Conference play. The loss was Kentucky’s ninth straight conference setback dating back to last season’s upset win over Ole Miss in Oxford.
Quarterback Cutter Boley made his second start of the year and his first on the road in the loss to the Gamecocks and threw a pair of interceptions and had a fumble. Two of those back-to-back miscues resulted in two straight scores by the South Carolina defense. Boley was also sacked six times for a loss of 39 yards.
“We have to play better around (Cutter) to give them that time,” Stoops said. “The first turnover with the protection, there are things we could do better there. Cutter will get better. The nice thing about him is that he’s very resilient, and he has a strong belief in himself, and the players believe in him as well.”
Stoops added that his team’s inability to force turnovers, while giving up back-to-back defensive scores, made it harder for the Wildcats to recover from a double-digit deficit.
“I think we all know that we can’t overcome turnovers — we just can’t do it,” Stoops said. “There aren’t many people who can, especially in our league. The way we’re built right now, we just can’t overcome turnovers like that.
“We always talk about the takeaways, and you look at us going into that game, we had a decent amount of interceptions, fumbles, balls on the ground that we weren’t able to get. That’s a balance sometimes. We’ve been doing a decent job on that. Didn’t get any on Saturday, so credit them.”
Following the loss at South Carolina, Boley wasn’t discouraged moving forward. To help avoid sacks, Boley took responsibility and added that he needs to “get the ball out of my hand” while under pressure from the opposing defenses.
We just have to hit on a few plays, and if we do that, we’re going to be alright,” he said. “I know each one of the guys in the locker room has unwavering confidence in this team.”
Going into Saturday’s contest at No. 12 Georgia, Boley remained atop the depth chart at quarterback, ahead of Zach Calzada, who has missed the past two games while nursing a shoulder injury.
Despite the recent struggles in the SEC, Stoops remains confident in his squad.
“I really like this football team and the way they work and their attitude,” Stoops said. “I don’t expect any of that to change. We just need to be better, and we need to execute in critical moments and just become a better football team.”
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Gametracker: Kentucky at Georgia, noon, Saturday. TV/Radio: ABC, UK Radio Network. Coverage: www.kentuckytoday.com
14 Responses
Great!
Can he tell us the two most important lessons he learned from the USC beatdown?
I guess he learned that turnovers are killers, DUH!
I guess he learned that UK is not a very good football team because it "needs to get better" DUH!!!!
If I hear this guy tell us one more time how much he "likes this team" I may throw this laptop through the TV screen. Every Coach, in Every Sport, had better "like his team" He assembled it. He directs it. If he doesn't like his team, then it is all on him.
No Coach will ever say anything else than "I like my team" which is nothing but filler material for dead air during an interview.
I would hope he learned why an offensive lineman who let the defender crunch Boley stood still for 2 seconds while the ball laid on the ground, and then when he realized he probably should jump on the ball, he lunged to the ground and landed 2 to 3 feet to the right of the ball, allowing the defensive player to simply bend over, pick it up, and run to the endzone.
Did Stoops learn anything from that one singular, game changing, bone headed play?
Go back to previous beat downs and you will hear the same thing coming from Stoops. Coach Speak!
We need a Diego Pacia and Coach Lea happening at UK. Our current staff seems to be DMW and wonder how many are putting out feelers. It could/should be a long funeral procession out of Lexington.
Stoops just doesn't get it at all…or maybe he does. BBN may be done with Stoops but he is not done with his big fat guaranteed contract. It looks like we will have to suffer at least 3 more years before Stoops exits stage left. My guess is Barnhart will leave at the same time. Until then…when does basketball season begin???
I understand that Barnhart keeps rolling this contract over, 1 additional year at the end of each completed season.
We are not stuck for 3 years. We are stuck until this thief decides to resign.
Barnhart should be held accountable.
I just did a quick AI query about the stoops contract buyout conditions, and this is what I got back. Of course, the cost of buying out Stoops is all on Barnhart's account.
The buyout for Coach Mark Stoops' contract at Kentucky is approximately $44 million. This amount reflects the financial obligation the university would incur if they decided to part ways with him and his coaching staff. aseaofblue.com ESPN
Mark Stoops' Contract Buyout Details
Current Buyout Amount
The buyout for Coach Mark Stoops' contract is approximately $40.5 million if Kentucky decides to terminate his agreement after the 2025 season.
Buyout Conditions
If Stoops chooses to leave Kentucky before June 30, 2026, he would owe the school $3 million.
This amount decreases to $2.5 million if he leaves after June 30, 2026, but before June 30, 2027, and continues to decrease by $500,000 annually until 2030.
Contract Duration
Stoops' current contract runs through June 30, 2031.
These figures indicate that while Stoops has a significant buyout, the terms allow for a gradual reduction if he decides to leave the program.
Does this contract automatically roll over such that the termination date extends by one year upon completion of the current year?
.
Yes, Coach Mark Stoops' contract at Kentucky includes a provision that automatically extends the termination date by one year upon completion of each season. This means that as long as he remains the head coach and completes a season, the contract is effectively renewed for an additional year, maintaining the same terms and conditions. This type of clause is common in coaching contracts to provide stability for both the coach and the university.
This madness never ends. When will those in charge pull the plug on Barnhart's Contract Madness?
Does this contract also have an automatic escalation clause, and if so, what is the Salary for the current year and next year?
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Yes, Coach Mark Stoops' contract includes an automatic escalation clause. This clause typically provides for an increase in his salary each year.
Current and Next Year Salary
Current Year Salary (2025): $8.6 million
Next Year Salary (2026): $9.0 million
This escalation reflects the university's commitment to retaining Stoops as head coach while also recognizing his contributions to the program's success. The automatic increase helps ensure that his compensation remains competitive within the landscape of college football coaching salaries.
The terms of this contract keep getting better, don't they.
Does the contract provide Coach Stoops with performance bonuses?
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Yes, Coach Mark Stoops' contract includes performance bonuses. These bonuses are typically tied to specific achievements and milestones, such as:
Winning the SEC Championship: A bonus is awarded if the team wins the Southeastern Conference title.
Bowl Game Appearances: Additional bonuses are provided for participating in certain bowl games, with higher amounts for more prestigious bowl games.
Winning Records: Achieving a winning record in a season may also trigger a bonus.
These performance incentives are designed to reward Stoops for the team's success and to motivate continued high performance. The exact amounts for each bonus can vary based on the specific terms outlined in the contract.
How much are the bonuses for winning records and bowl appearances?
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In Coach Mark Stoops' contract, the bonuses for winning records and bowl appearances are structured as follows:
Bonus Structure
Winning Record Bonus: $100,000 for achieving a winning record in a season.
Bowl Game Appearance Bonus:
$150,000 for participating in a bowl game.
$250,000 for participating in a New Year's Six bowl game.
$500,000 for participating in the College Football Playoff.
These bonuses are designed to incentivize success on the field and reward Stoops for leading the team to competitive achievements.
All such lovely things to have in a contract.
Thorough detailed research reveals….
•• Barney FAILED with the contract
•• Stoops go a “can’t lose” contract even if he never wins.
Either those Barney reports to are absolutely totally ignorant OR they are getting some nice “referral fees” each season from the coach who is getting paid for losing!
Hire 3 experienced auditors with an extremely high levels of integrity to thoroughly review every dollar that has gone into and out of the UKAA financial department, demanding thorough results from 3 independent audits, to insure there is not any cross-communications to slyly hide any discrepancy.
Where has EVERY cent been been disbursed, who to and for what specific numerated reasons.
Accountability will obviously reveal how incompetent and dumb some folks are, but will also uncover any slight of hand that may have slipped some money into pockets as petty cash – and that may be where thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been divided up between co-conspirators.
Either UK has the most ignorant financial & legal employees (AD, lawyers, etc)
OR
UK has some crooks irresponsibly handling the finances & contracts.
FOLLOW THE MONEY !!!
FOLLOW THE MONEY !!!
Prepared come jail cells – they will be needed!
Good work if you can get it!!!!
To Quote Thomas Sowell: "It's insanity to trust crucial decisions to people who pay no price for being wrong. "
If losing is learning uk will have a really high i.q. after the rest of the year .
Excellent deduction, Grant! Sad tho, but funny 😎